Finn

Now here's an exciting recommendation: The novel Finn by John Clinch. He's constructed an entire character, Huck's father, from the brief references to him in Huckleberry Finn. It is a literary novel full of rich symbolism. Mark Twain utilized the first person point of view. He told Huck's tale from Huck's viewpoint. In Finn John Clinch uses an omniscient narrator. Amazing thing is that it works! There are incredibly beautiful poetic passages. No wonder Clinch says that his style echoes The King James Bible and William Faulkner. The narrative is not chronological and can be confusing. I read the novel twice in order to grasp the time line, as well as to appreciate the language of the book. I belong to a book club here in Florida, but I think I was the only member truly excited by this novel. I came to the meeting with passages underlined, things to discuss, and, most importantly, questions about how did everyone else feel about Finn? He is most definitely not a sympathetic character, but I found myself understanding him, even excusing him for some of his evil deeds. Am I gullible? Or did the author make him complex enough to allow some sympathy? Unfortunately, we never got to discussing this in the book club. No one else took the time to fully appreciate this novel. I know that sounds elitist and a bit snobbish, but I feel that a discussion group could spend hours with this one and still be going strong. Oh well. There must be others who view the work as I do. If you're out there, let me hear from you. Oh. I forgot no one reads this blog.